The Guardian
by LastHonestLook
Summary: AU. Tara thought she was just a normal girl until she went to college and learned that she would have to lead the world into a war between good and evil.  No biggie.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I originally wrote this story for Camp NanoWriMo July 2011, but I have edited it slightly to post here. This is my first attempt at writing for an audience in a long time, so constructive criticism is definitely welcome. I know it starts out slow, but it should pick up soon. Willow makes her debut a little later, but I promise she will appear soon, so don't worry. :)

Tara received a letter in the mail. It was a thick envelope embossed with the seal of Wellesley College. It was her dream school. It was her top choice. And they were sending her a thick envelope. Years of watching television taught her that thick envelopes meant acceptance letters, but she did not want to get her hopes up before she actually saw the words. She ran to her bedroom and slumped down into her chair, feeling like a one hundred pound weight had landed on her shoulders. Knowing that her entire future was riding on the very thing in her shaky hands, Tara slipped her thumb under the paper flap and tore the envelope open. It contained many crisp white papers, but only one stuck out to her. It began: Ms. Maclay, Congratulations-

She only got as far as the first word in the first paragraph before she released the breath she had held in for so long. Feeling unsteady, she stood up and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. She placed the envelope, and all of the papers it held, on her desk and clutched the letter of congratulations tightly to her chest. A slow smile spread across her face as she read and reread the letter until she had it almost committed to memory. The smile broke into a wide grin that threatened to crack her face clean in two.

Tara had been waiting for this letter longer than the months it took the school to process her submitted application and decide to accept her. She had been waiting years. She remembered the day she first set foot on Wellesley's campus. She and her family were on a trip to Boston to visit her mother's sister who had just had her first baby.

There were only a few moments that stuck in her mind like that day, and she could replay them all as though they were movies being projected onto the inside front of her skull. She could remember every detail as specific as what the weather was like and what she had eaten for breakfast.

It was the May of her freshman year. For Tara, it was a surprisingly warm day. Sure, it was spring, but being from North Carolina and having only traveled as far north as Richmond, Virginia, she was not expecting Massachusetts to be 70 degrees. Plants were beginning to bloom, and one could easily see why Wellesley is so well known for its greenery. The campus was simply beautiful.

The students represented all walks of life; they were young and old, dark and light, skinny and curvy. Walking around, Tara could hear snippets of conversations that reflected the diversity of the student body. One moment, she'd hear someone discussing the upcoming midterm elections, and the next moment she'd hear someone else talking about the Tegan and Sara concert they were planning to go to that night. Tara immediately felt at home immersed in the culture of the school, and that day, made it her goal to enroll as a student some day.

She knew she belonged there, and that only spurred her on in her academics. She had never been a slacker, but after her visit to the college, she dived into her school work with the gusto of a woman on a mission. She realized her family could never afford to send her to a private school, but that didn't stop her from working. She knew when she first applied to Wellesley she would not only have to meet the requirements for admission, she had to exceed them in order to get enough scholarship money to pay for most if not all of her college necessities.

The week immediately prior to receiving her acceptance letter, she was awarded a scholarship from her employers. The scholarship covered half tuition and room and board for eight semesters, and Wellesley was offering her a grant that would pay for the rest. She planned to find a job in Massachusetts to help with her other expenses. At least that was one thing she had covered already.

Tara decided she needed to share her good news with her family. She had not told them that she had applied to Wellesley for fear that they would not support her decision to attend a college on the other side of the country, but now that she had been accepted, she wanted to tell everyone!

Still clutching the letter, Tara ran out of her room and into the hallway that led to the kitchen where she found her mother stirring a pot on the stove and her brother at the sink washing vegetables. She looked through the door that separated the kitchen from the living room to her father sat in his favorite chair watching Jeopardy. Any other day Tara would be sprawled on the sofa next to her father's La-Z-Boy watching Jeopardy and competing with him to see who could get the most answers right the quickest. They had been watching the show together for as long as she could remember.

"Hey, sweetheart," Mr. Maclay sat up from his chair, "Why aren't you in here with me tonight?"

Instead of answering, Tara simply walked over to him, laid her hand on his shoulder, and handed him the letter. Mr. Maclay took the paper with a questioning look in Tara's direction. Tara did not say a word but nodded to let him know that she wanted him to read it.

Glancing down at the paper, the first thing that caught Mr. Maclay's attention was the large blue "W" at the top. At that moment, he knew what the letter meant but continued to read as if it were a completely new development. Mr. Maclay was more aware of the goings on in his house than he let on. He had known his daughter was interested in the New England school, and he had no doubt she would apply and be accepted. His daughter was one of the most intelligent people he had ever known, and she had always had high aspirations. Mr. Maclay read the letter looked up at Tara with a wide grin not unlike the one that had been plastered on her face since she had entered the room.

Mr. Maclay stood up and wrapped his large arms around Tara's smaller body.

"Congratulations, Tare!"

"Thanks, Dad," Tara said with a beaming smile.

"I always knew you would do great things," Her father's grin had morphed into a warm smile, but he puffed out his chest proudly as he continued, "How could you not be great? You're a Maclay. It's in your blood!"

Tara's smile grew even wider.

"Have you told your mother and brother?"

Tara shook her head.

"I wanted to tell you first. I was going to tell them at dinner."

"Well, if my nose is correct, and it usually is, dinner is almost ready now. Let's head in."

Tara giggled at the nose comment.

"Daddy, you could smell good food being cooked five miles down the road," A sly look crossed Tara's features as she pulled away slightly to get a better look at him, "You remember that time at Christmas?"

Tara felt her father's tanned skin grow hot indicating a blush beginning to spread throughout his cheeks.

Three years ago, Tara and all of her extended family on her father's side had gathered at her grandmother's house in Georgia for Christmas dinner. The children, just about everyone under the age of 20, were in the basement trying to escape the adults like they did every year. This was the first year Donnie, her brother, was allowed to go down to the basement with them because he had finally turned 10 and deemed old enough to be one of the 'big kids'. Tara kept had to keep a close eye on him in the corner of her eye.

Because all of the others were so much older than him, Donnie felt lonely and excluded, so he asked Tara to walk with him upstairs to find their mother. Tara agreed because she knew that it wasn't safe for the boy to walk up the old slippery stairs by himself. She grabbed Donnie's hand and told her cousins she'd return soon before beginning the climb upstairs.

Once Donnie had reached the top of the stairs and had his mother in sight, he dropped Tara's hand and started to run towards her.

At this point, things started to get sticky.

The way her grandmother's house was set up was an accident waiting to happen for the Maclays. When you walked into the front door, the living room was immediately to the left, the kitchen was straight ahead, and a hall was to the right that held doors to the basement and all the bedrooms.

As Donnie made his way towards his mother, his grandmother stepped out of the kitchen holding one of her famous apple pies and opened her mouth as though she were prepared to speak. Donnie and his grandmother nearly collided, but they managed to sidestep each other. At the very same time, the front door swung open revealing Mr. Maclay who was barreling towards the kitchen, obviously without paying attention to where he was going.

Donnie would have been run over by his father if Tara had not reached out and grabbed him in the nick of time, quicker than any fifteen year old should have. Mr. Maclay, though unable to stop himself soon enough, shared a thought with everyone else in the room.

"Oh shit."

It all played in front of Tara in slow motion. Mr. Maclay ran straight into his mother, Tara's grandmother, covering them both in cranberry sauce. The room that had previously been buzzing with conversation and bustling with aunts, uncles, and other visitors was now silent with shock.

"Christopher Alan Maclay II, what have I told you about running in the house," Tara's grandmother scolded her son.

"But you haven't made cranberry sauce in years." Mr. Maclay ducked his head in shame and in that moment, he could have easily been mistaken for his own son.

"And this is precisely the reason why," Grandma Maclay said turning slightly red in the face, "This happened the last time too."

The image of a 30 year old man being berated by his mother, both covered in cranberry sauce was too much for everyone. The room was bubbled with laughter. As the family sat down at dinner, Tara's uncles revealed that they had been playing touch football at the lot across the street when he suddenly stopped in the middle of a pass and began sprinting towards the house. They were worried that he had seen or heard something strange in the house, but soon realized it was just their brother's super nose at work again just like it had when they were kids.

"Let's not bring that up again, Tara," Mr. Maclay's voice was stern, but Tara could see the mirth in his eyes.

"Bring what up again," Mrs. Maclay had heard them as they entered the kitchen.

"Not a thing," Tara responded with a wink in her father's direction. Mrs. Maclay playfully rolled her eyes but dropped the subject.

"Wash up. It's time to eat."


	2. Chapter 2

"Only two more months until I can get out of this hellhole," Tara said to herself as she pedaled her bike harder to get up the biggest hill in her small town.

Tara always took her bike out for a long ride through town whenever she was upset about something. She took her anger out on the pavement beneath her wheels and grumbled to her bike about her problems. Tara had had a particularly bad day at school.

Though she didn't have any friends, everyone in her small school, the only high school in the county, knew her name. She was the school lesbian and she had held that title since the time in 9th grade when she was caught making out with Darla, the Regina George of Peace High School. Darla and Tara had been secretly dating each other for almost a year when one of her minions saw them together in the back of the school library. Of course, Darla claimed that Tara had forced herself on her; of course, Darla outed her; and of course, she made it her life goal to make Tara's life a living hell to keep her quiet about their time together.

Today had been a day like any other until lunch. The cafeteria was serving carrot cake, one of the few school lunch items that actually tasted like the food it was supposed to be. It, being the most popular dish, was almost sold out halfway through lunch. Through some grace of God, Tara managed to get the last slice of the cake. And as though she were in some sort of movie, Darla happened to be directly behind her. Darla casually reached around and took the cake off her tray without so much as a look at Tara.

"Um, hey," Tara said quietly, so as not to cause a scene, "I've been craving that cake all day. Please give it back. Or maybe we can split it?"

"Sorry. I don't share with dykes," Darla replied loud enough to catch the attention of everyone in the cafeteria.

Tara really hated the d-word. And even when she tried to be polite, Darla was a bitch. She had even said 'please' for Pete's sake! Tara was fed up.

She leaned in close enough to smell Darla's perfume and spoke only loud enough for her to hear, "But I'm not the only dyke here, am I?"

If one looked close enough, he could see the small golden sparks jumping in Tara's eyes.

Tara felt the heat radiating from Darla's skin, and when she leaned back, she saw that Darla's face was almost purple. Tara knew she had made a big mistake, but she could not back down now. She stood waiting for Darla to make the next move.

She saw Darla's knuckles whiten as she gripped her tray harder. Before she could make another move, Tara felt Darla push her tray onto her shirt hard enough to shove her back a few steps. Darla threw punches hard enough to knock out a grown man, but only one of them landed on Tara's jaw. Tara managed to block any other blows with reflexes even quicker than a cat's.

Tara had never been in a fight, but it seemed as though her body already knew exactly how to handle the situation and was acting on autopilot.

Eventually, one of the resource officers was able to pull Darla off of Tara, but not without a struggle. The 350 pound man was having a surprisingly hard time trying to control the tiny waif of a girl.

Another officer appeared to take Tara, but she stood up by herself and did not put up a fight when he grabbed her arm. She ducked her head in embarrassment letting her hair cover her face as they left the cafeteria and headed towards the principal's office, but she was not ashamed of what she had done.

Tara, covered in school gravy and mashed potatoes, sat in one of the chairs in the office as they called her mother. The secretary had already called Darla's parents, but they were in Spain on a business trip, so they left them a voicemail, and sent her home with a 10-day suspension. As Darla was leaving, Tara's mother arrived with a stony expression on her face.

"Come on in, Mrs. Maclay," Principal Flutie said with a sad smile, "You too, Tara."

Tara stood and followed her mother into the office.

"Have a seat."

Tara sat next to her mother and across from Principal Flutie at his desk.

"I've called you here today to talk about-"

Tara tuned out the rest of the conversation as she got lost in her own thoughts. Why did she say what she said to Darla? She knew that she would only provoke her. Tara had always been a docile child, but Darla just made her so angry. Nothing and no one else in the world could piss her off with so few words. She needed to leave the school, and she needed to do it sooner rather than later.

"-expulsion. It's just-"

"Wait. I'm _expelled_?" Tara said shocked.

"I said that it is not expulsion, Tara. Please pay attention." Flutie gave her a concerned look.

"Sorry." Tara sank down further in her seat.

"As I was saying, we're not going to expel her," Flutie turned to Mrs. Maclay, "The normal course of action for fighting on school grounds is a 10-day suspension, but this seems like a special case. Tara is a star student, and I have only heard good things from her teachers. Also, witnesses have said that the other student was bullying Tara and had been doing so for a long time now-"

"Excuse me, but if it has been going on for so long, why is the school just now taking action?" Mrs. Maclay cut in.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Maclay, but I cannot do anything until there is concrete evidence of bullying," Mrs. Maclay was not satisfied with his answer, but she let him continue, "Anywho, witnesses saw the other student harassing Tara, and she started the fight, so we can record this as self-defense. However, we still have to take disciplinary action. What do you want to do?"

Mrs. Maclay glanced at Tara and her features softened as she saw her daughter so upset.

"Can she finish the year at home?" Mr. and Mrs. Maclay knew that their daughter was unhappy at school, and they had been trying to find ways to help her with that. Mrs. Maclay saw this little altercation as a blessing in disguise.

Tara's heart skipped a beat at her mother's suggestion. Being done with the idiots at Peace High School a couple months earlier than she expected would make her happier than anything else.

Principal Flutie hesitated before he answered.

"Well, I would hate to take a student out of school, but since she is such a good student and she is almost finished anyway, I think I can make an exception. Though there will be a mark on her permanent record. Of course, I'll have to talk to the school board about this first."

"Of course."

"I do, however, have to send Tara home for the rest of the day."

"I understand."

"Just sign these papers and you can be on your way."

Mrs. Maclay signed the papers, and the two women left the building without incident. Tara buckled herself into the front seat and did not say a word to her mother. As happy as Tara was about the possibility of never having to see Darla again, just the thought of the girl who had tormented her for the better part of their high school career pissed her off. They were halfway home before Mrs. Maclay broke the silence in the car.

"I'm sorry this happened, Tara, but you know that fighting is never okay."

Tara wanted to snap, but she just could not bring herself to be angry with her mother.

"I know. I'm sorry." She spoke quietly then turned to watch the trees pass by her window.

Mrs. Maclay knew her daughter well enough to know that she need some space, so she gave it to her. She knew that their inevitable conversation could wait. They rode the rest of the way home in silence.

Once the car was parked in the garage, Tara quickly got out and moved to unlock her bike.

"I'm going for a ride," Tara said tersely as she swung one leg over the bike.

"Be back before dinner." Mrs. Maclay called as she watched her daughter speed off around the corner.

Mrs. Maclay stood in her place a little longer. She hated to see her daughter so upset, but she knew it was all necessary to fulfill the prophecy. She went inside and dialed Grandma Maclay's number.

"Hello?" Grandma Maclay answered.

"It's started."

"What's started, dear? You sound exhausted. Relax."

"Tara. We saw the first sign."

"Oh," Grandma Maclay paused and let the new information sink in. Her voice was slightly deeper and much steadier when she spoke again, "I'll call the others. Tell Chris, but don't fret. I'll handle everything."


	3. Chapter 3

Being temporarily homeschooled worked well for Tara. She got most of her assignments from her teachers via email, but for things that required a physical copy, her neighbor delivered them quickly and left without any more than a "hello" and a "goodbye".

About a week after leaving school, a letter had come in the mail a week earlier from Wellesley. They had withdrawn their admissions offer. Tara's immediate reaction was anger. Her face flushed a deep red and her fists clenched at her sides. Though she couldn't see them, her eyes glowed an electric blue and the same faint golden sparks from the fight with Darla appeared there.

After another long bike ride, Tara had calmed herself down and locked herself in her room to simply wallow in her woes. She was not surprised that Wellesley had chosen not to take a chance on her, but she was disappointed in herself for letting Darla get under her skin. She stayed in her room for the weekend only emerging to make the occasional sandwich and use the bathroom.

A couple days later, things were a bit closer to normal. At least, Tara was eating meals with the family again.

Tara laid on her bed reading the assigned chapters from The Scarlet Letter. It was short, but the language in the book made it more difficult than she had expected. Nonetheless, she deeply enjoyed the story. Tara found a kind of kindred spirit in Hester Prynne with regards to her isolation.

"Tara, Grandma's on the phone. She wants to speak with you." Mr. Maclay poked his head into the room and held out the rarely-used cordless family telephone. Tara smiled at her father, but he only looked at her sadly as she took the phone from him.

"Thanks," Tara sat in the chair at her desk. About a week had passed since the fight with Darla at school, and her parents had been regarding her with the same strange expression ever since. Donnie was normal, but something had obviously changed with her parents.

After a few seconds of staring, Mr. Maclay finally left the room.

"Hey, Grandma," Tara said happily. She loved her grandmother more than anyone else in the world. Though she only got to see her once a year at Christmas, the distance never put a toll on their relationship, and Grandma Maclay always managed to raise her spirits. Since she was a child she had felt an unexplained connection to her grandmother.

"Hello, sweet child. How have you been? I heard about what happened at school."

"I'm…," Tara thought carefully about her answer, "I've been better."

"Thanks, Grandma."

"What about that Massachusetts school?"

"Wellesley," Tara snapped. She immediately regretted letting her short temper affect her conversation with her grandmother, but she didn't know how to apologize for it, so she said nothing.

"I'm sorry, dear. How are things going with Wellesley?" Grandma Maclay knew that Tara's uncharacteristic irritability was only one of the necessary changes she had to go through to fulfill the prophecy, so she did not take it personally.

"I can't go there anymore." Tara's small voice was heartbreaking.

"Everything will work out for you. I'm sure of it."

"I just hope my backups will still take me."

"What are your backups?"

"Oh, I applied to a couple state schools. They're actually really good but…"

"But you wanted to get out of North Carolina." Tara's grandmother knew her better than she thought.

"Yeah."

"Actually, Tara, that's what I wanted to talk to talk to you about," her voice grew more serious, "Have you looked into any other schools in the country?"

"No. There's no point now," Tara did not try to hide her dejection.

"There's always a point, dear. You may not realize it now, but you're going to do great things."

"I guess-"

"You got mail, T." Donnie whispered as he tapped on the doorframe and tossed a thick white envelope to her.

Tara plucked the envelope out of the air without much effort. As she examined the envelope, she saw that it was from the University of California – Sunnydale.

"I've never even heard of this place," Tara thought out loud.

"What is it?" Grandma Maclay's voice brought Tara back to their conversation.

"Oh," Tara said distantly, "I just got mail from some school in California."

"California?" She was surprised that the package had arrived so soon. "Well, I should go now. I have some errands to run."

"Okay. It was nice talking to you."

"I love you with all my heart, Tara. And remember," Grandma Maclay added, "When one door closes, another one opens. Take a chance."

"Thanks again. I love you."

"I'm always here for you. Goodbye."

"Bye."

As she disconnected the call, Tara checked again to be sure the envelope was addressed to her before opening it. She had been accepted to the college of arts and sciences at UCS. Also, according to the letter, she had not only been nominated for a scholarship from the California Women's College Fund, which she had never heard of, but she had been chosen to receive it.

"This is strange." Tara said quietly to herself. She thought back to the conversation with her grandmother and she smiled as she put two and two together.

"She did this," Tara whispered to herself shocked with her grandmother's actions.

The only problem she saw with the situation is that she had never even heard of the school. What if this was some sort of scam? She had heard of a lot of money scams that prey on older women like Grandma Maclay.

Her grandmother's words returned to her, "Take a chance."

"Why not," she said as she opened her laptop and Googled the school. She looked at their official website and read some individual student blogs about life in Sunnydale. Tara wanted to major in history, and apparently, they had the strongest history department in the University of California system.

She researched the town and found that they had an abnormally high crime rate, but everything else about it was ideal. It had a larger population than she originally wanted, but she figured she could get used to that.

"Take a chance," she whispered to herself as she reread the acceptance letter.

Her options were Sunnydale or the college an hour down the road. Once the reality of the thought of being only an hour from the place that had made her life hell settled, she realized which was the obvious choice. She began filling out the required forms to reserve her spot as a student at UC Sunnydale. Apparently, her registration fee had already been paid too.

The rest of the school year and her summer passed uneventfully. Graduation was hot and sweaty. She walked across the stage, got her diploma, and took pictures with some of the girls she had been friends with in elementary school before she left Peace High School forever. She never once looked back at it as they drove home. Darla didn't say a word to her.

Whenever Tara tried to ask her grandmother about the scholarship, she wished her quick congratulations and changed the subject. Her parents, though happy for her, seemed to be as in-the-dark as Tara.

When it was time for Tara to head off to school, Mr. Maclay wanted to make it a big family road trip. He said he wanted to be like Chevy Chase in 'National Lampoon's Vacation', but Mrs. Maclay eventually talked him out of that idea.

They decided that Tara would take a plane, and since tickets and a hotel room were expensive, the rest of the family would stay home. Grandma Maclay asked to accompany her because she had never seen the Pacific. The Maclay women took off from North Carolina on a hot August morning before sunrise.

The plane ride was similar to the one the Maclays took to Massachusetts: crowded and loud. As uncomfortable as it was, the two women arrived safely in Los Angeles before noon. Once they found their bags, Tara looked around and saw a small blonde woman holding a sign that said "Tara Maclay and family".

Hesitantly, Tara approached the woman.

"I'm Tara Maclay," she said softly with a small wave.

The woman's face lit up as she put her oversized black sunglasses on the top of her head.

"Great! I'm Buffy," she enthusiastically shook first Tara's then Grandma Maclay's hand, "I've been assigned to take you to the school and show you around."

"Nice to meet you," Tara smiled a little brighter with the woman's bubbly personality, "This is my grandmother."

"I really am excited to meet you two, but we should really get going."

"Of course," Tara readjusted her bag on her shoulder.

"Let me get these for you," Buffy grabbed Grandma Maclay's bag and the larger of Tara's luggage ignoring Tara's protests, "My car is this way."

The ride from LAX was awkward, but Buffy refused to let it be quiet. She pointed out every location between Grandma Maclay's hotel and UC Sunnydale including her mother's house, some place called The Bronze, and the lot where her old high school once stood.

"What happened to it?"

"Oh, I blew it up," Buffy replied nonchalantly. She was about to point out The Espresso Pump when she realized what she had just revealed to Tara. She glanced over to the passenger seat and saw Tara staring wide eyed at her.

"Blew it up?"

"Uh, yeah. Long story," Buffy said quickly.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Buffy was beating herself up about not being able to keep her mouth shut; Tara was slightly confused about the whole situation; and Grandma Maclay simply had nothing to say.

"Buffy, dear, could you drop me off at the Hilton up ahead. I have reservations," Grandma Maclay spoke for the first time since leaving the airport.

"No problem."

"The Hilton?" Tara asked bewildered, "How can you afford the Hilton?"

"Oh, you have to spoil yourself sometimes, Tara. Plus, a friend is paying for it as a gift."

Buffy stopped the car in front of the hotel and she and Tara got out to help the older woman with her bags.

"You two get back in the car." Grandma Maclay waved her hand at them, "I'm not too old to carry my own bags. And look," two employees with a trolley came from the hotel, "I have help."

"If you're sure," Tara said.

"Absolutely."

With that, the two younger women began to get back in the car, but Grandma Maclay caught Buffy by the arm.

"Take care of my granddaughter," she said as she stared strongly into the small blonde's eyes.

"I will defend her with my life, you know that," Buffy answered just as intensely.

Grandma Maclay let go of her and stepped back with a small smile, "I'm just making sure."

Buffy got back in the car and pulled away from the building.

"What was that about," asked Tara.

"Nothing."

About ten minutes passed before Tara looked out her window and saw a red brick sign that read "University of California – Sunnydale".

The campus was not as green as the schools she had seen in the east, but it a lot greener than she had expected. The tall brick buildings and arches were beautiful. Students and families were busy moving in, but some people were simply lying out on the grass taking in the sunny day. It looked like the type of school you'd see on television.

"You'll be staying in Stevenson Hall," Buffy spoke for the first time since they had left the hotel, "In fact, I'll be your roommate!"

"That's cool," Tara was glad she wouldn't have to share a room with a complete stranger. At least, she had known Buffy for over an hour.

Buffy parked outside the building and they gathered Tara's bags.

"Where is your stuff?"

"I moved in last week," she opened the door and held it for Tara.

"Oh," Tara felt kind of dumb for asking.

They took the elevator up to the third floor and Buffy led the way to their room. Buffy opened the door and revealed a tall dark haired man lying on a bare bed playing with a kitten and a small redhead sitting cross-legged on the bed closest to the door frowning at a laptop.

"Guys, this is Tara. Tara, meet Xander and Willow."


End file.
